I’m training to be a Formula 1 driver – and I’ve only just passed my test
A 17 year-old from the UK aiming to break into Formula 1 has only just passed her driving test allowing her out and about on public roads.
Chloe Grant, from Perth, wasn’t even allowed to get behind the wheel on her own just a few days ago, but she can now throw away the L plates and drive to the track herself.
The overjoyed teenager was recently selected for a top F1 academy and, after her test, was immediately off to France to continue chasing her dream job as one of the world’s best racers.
Chloe had learnt to drive when she was just 13, but obviously needed a handful of lessons to familiarise herself with the requirements of the test, reports bbc.co.uk
However, she was delighted to pass first time after just a week of driving on the road.
Chloe said: “I wasn’t nervous about my test until the date closed in,
“The only thing I had been anxious about before beginning lessons was the oncoming cars, it was something I realised I hadn’t had to consider on track.
Unsurprisingly, Chloe’s driving instructor Alan High said it was the first time he had taught a budding F1 driver.
He said: “My biggest concern before we started was, would I be able to keep her at a reasonable speed?
“And what I’ve said is while she’s doing her driving on the road, she’s not got a crash helmet on so she’s not in race mode.
“Hopefully that keeps her thinking we’ve got to be safe rather than driving flat-out.”
Chloe is part of the F1 Academy series, joining other drivers Lena Buhler and Carrie Schreiner with French team ART Grand Prix competing against four other racing outfits.
The first F1 Academy series starts in Austria this month with further events in Spain, the Netherlands, Italy, France and the United States.
Chloe chose to leave school last year, enrolling at Loughborough College to study Motorsport UK Academy’s Diploma in Sporting Excellence (DiSE).
Events director at Knockhill Racing Circuit, Stuart Gray, said he first became aware of Chloe’s ability when she took part in a karting event aged just 13.
He said: “There was something about her talent and her approach that made her different from the other kids that we had here.
“And I think that’s been recognised with the F1 Academy, that she’s got the potential to make it the whole way.”
He said: “Max Verstappen in F1 was a world champion before he could drive on the roads.
“It will be a strange thing for her.
“One day she’s doing 140mph on the track, next she’s doing 20mph through Perth.”
Chloe said that being part of the F1 Academy had “made her dreams come true.”
She said: “My ultimate goal is Formula 1, I want to show that girls can make it there.
“It is genuinely down to the backing and the small amount of us who do have the genuine talent to get there.
“I hope it inspires more women to get involved with the sport, it’s my whole life now and I love it to absolute bits.”